Wyc Grousbeck

Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Olynyk, Barrett, Tillman, Celtics Sale, Lowry

October 10th, 2024 at 12:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Scottie Barnes and Kelly Olynyk played fewer than 100 minutes together after Olynyk was acquired by the Raptors at the trade deadline. Barnes will make his preseason debut on Friday and anticipates he could be an ideal pick-and-roll partner for the veteran big man, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

“I think we’ve been working on that a lot. You play with different lines at practices, see how things go,” Barnes said. “Kelly’s great at passing. He can dribble really well for his size and just his vision on the floor. So being able to create those advantages where a (center guarding Olynyk) is used to being in the ball screen, it kind of messes up a team or messes up some rotations, for sure. So just got to try to use that, exploit it at times, and see what works throughout the process, throughout games. If it keeps working, you know, you just keep attacking.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Raptors wing RJ Barrett is expected to miss the remainder of the preseason with a shoulder injury. That could thrust Ochai Agbaji into the starting lineup when the season begins, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. In a separate note, Lewenberg reports that Immanuel Quickley should be cleared for contact soon. He’s recovering from a thumb injury.
The Celtics seem determined to expand Xavier Tillman‘s offensive game. Tillman has taken five 3-pointers in two preseason games and made three of them. “You never want to put a ceiling on his game, and now that we have him for an entire offseason and season it’s just continuing to grow,” coach Joe Mazzulla told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “So he does a great job of working, but all facets are important for his development.”
The Celtics are up for sale and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck provided Himmelsbach with an update. “The sale process is gearing up and about to hit full speed,” he said. “It took this long for our advisers to go through the financial and business data of the team and our whole management team, and spend enough time to put together offering books. Now they’re beginning to have discussions with interested parties, and the bidding process will commence in the next month or so.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Kyle Lowry could become an NBA head coach after the veteran guard retires, he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think that he’s got a couple things that I would think would make him a good coach,” Nurse said. “He really loves the game. He really studies the game. He knows the game, and, obviously, he’s got a toughness level, right? I think he could handle going out there to fight.”

Family Rift Over Payroll Reportedly Led To Decision To Sell Celtics

September 14th, 2024 at 8:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

A family disagreement over the Celtics‘ rising payroll was behind Wyc Grousbeck’s decision to put the majority stake in the team up for sale, sources tell Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Ninety-year-old Irving Grousbeck controls about 20% of the franchise and is unwilling to absorb the projected financial losses that will be necessary to keep the team in title contention, according to Kosman. After winning the championship in June, Boston handed out several new contracts that will bring the total cost of the roster for the 2025/26 season to about $500MM in salary and tax payments.

“That’s what happens when dad puts in most of the money,” a source told Kosman.

Kosman cites another source close to the sale process who says the team is projected to lose about $80MM this season. That amount will be much higher in the following season when repeater tax penalties become harsher.

The Celtics handed out a record-setting contract to Jaylen Brown last summer, and then topped that with a five-year, $314MM super-max extension for Jayson Tatum in July. Jrue Holiday also received an extension and several players were re-signed, pushing the total 2025/26 team salary north of $225MM and setting up a projected $280MM luxury tax payment.

“Wyc says we’ll spend whatever it takes, but dad wasn’t into losing money,” another source told Kosman, who hears that the team barely broke even last season while winning its 18th NBA title.

The Grousbeck family claimed it was unloading its share of the team for “estate planning purposes” when the surprise announcement was made in early July. Wyc Grousbeck reiterated that stance in a statement to Kosman.

“The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations. To say the sale is in any way related to losses is completely incorrect,” he stated. “There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team and we don’t anticipate there being one.”

The NBA is hoping to have the Celtics valued at a record-setting $6 billion for the sale, but there are complications in reaching that figure. Sources tell Kosman that the team’s projected losses and the fact that it doesn’t own TD Garden to provide revenue from other events could make prospective buyers reluctant to bid that high.

The Grousbecks are hoping to sell a 51% stake either later this year or early in 2025 and then continue to run the team until the full sale is completed in 2028.

There has been little movement toward a sale in the two-and-a-half months since the Grousbecks announced that the team was available, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Banks helping with the transaction are still reviewing the team’s assets and liabilities to provide an accurate report for interested buyers, which Himmelsbach says is typical in this type of transaction.

Silver: League Still Isn’t Ready To Tackle Expansion

September 10th, 2024 at 6:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The league isn’t quite ready to explore expansion talks, NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed during a Tuesday press conference. Silver addressed the media after the league’s Board of Governors meeting.

“There was not a lot of discussion in this meeting about expansion, but only largely not for lack of interest, it was that we had said to them that we’re not quite ready,” Silver said, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. “It was something that we told our board we plan to address this season, and we’re not quite ready yet. But I think there’s certainly interest in the process, and I think that we’re not there yet in terms of having made any specific decisions about markets or even frankly to expand.”

Expansion has been put off while the league negotiated a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and reached new broadcast deals. With those items in the rear view mirror, the league could eventually discuss expansion in the coming months. The first step in that process, according to Bontemps, would be forming a committee of several owners to explore the topic and determine what the next steps would be.

Here’s more from Silver’s press conference and the BOG meeting:

The commissioner would prefer that legalized sports betting had a “federal framework,” rather than being a state competition with varying rules. “I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting. I still am,” he said. “I still think that the hodgepodge of state by state, it makes it more difficult for the league to administer it. I think it creates competition, understandably, among states to get — just think New York, New Jersey or a situation like that where you’re both competing for the same customer, so you can compete on tax rates and other things and a regulatory framework.”
The league is essentially in wait-and-see mode regarding the potential sales of two franchises, the Timberwolves and the Celtics, according to The Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds. Minnesota’s dispute between current majority owner Glen Taylor and potential majority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is headed to arbitration. “That’s a process that exists independent of the league that was set out in the sales agreement,” Silver said. Boston’s ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, intends to sell the majority of its shares later this year or early next year, then close on a sale of the balance of remaining shares in 2028. “I think that Wyc Grousbeck and his ownership group are in the process of working through what the steps will be,” Silver said.
Raptors Governor and Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Larry Tanenbaum has been re-elected as the Board’s chairman, NBA Communications tweets. Tanenbaum has served in that role since 2017.
The league could have a national streaming RSN platform as soon as the 2025/26 season, according to the Sports Business Journal’s Tom Friend. Numerous teams were affected Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings. Diamond is the parent company of Bally Sports. “I think coming out of this, when we look at the interest of streaming services to carry local games and all the additional functionality that will come to that, there will be a transition and transition for our viewers, as well, in terms of how they discover those games and how they watch them, that I think the end result will be a much better consumer experience,” Silver said.

Adam Silver Talks Apron Rules, Expansion, Dolan Letter, More

July 17th, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

Executives from teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, and Lakers have cited the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement and its new tax apron rules this offseason when explaining their inability to retain key players or to make roster upgrades. The apron has also been blamed by some league observers for a perceived decline in blockbuster trades, given the various new restrictions that apron teams face when trying to make deals.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, including ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the apron rules, suggesting they’re having their intended effect and disagreeing with the notion that they’ve made the offseason any less exciting.

“What I’m hearing from teams, even as the second apron is moving to kick in, the teams are realizing there are real teeth in those provisions,” Silver said. “I don’t know how to view this, but I know reports have come out that the summer was boring from a fan standpoint. I don’t certainly think it was. We still saw a lot of critically important players moving from one team to another as free agents.

“But at the same time, I think this new system, while I don’t want it to be boring, I want to put teams in a position, 30 teams, to better compete. I think we’re on our way to doing that.”

Silver also pushed back on the perception that the NBA is trying to break up dynasties or discourage teams from being able to win two or three titles in a row.

“As long as we can create something close to a level playing field in terms of the tools available to teams to compete, I’m absolutely fine with dynasties and I’m fine with new teams emerging every year,” Silver said.

Here’s more from the commissioner:

The NBA is still putting the finishing touches on its new media rights deals, according to Silver, who reiterated that the league will turn its focus to possible expansion when those agreements have been finalized. “I will say (expansion)’s a bit more complicated than is suggested sometimes,” Silver said, per Holmes. “Just think of the new media deals, for example. Once they’re completed, when you bring in new partners, you’re diluting those payments to teams. Sometimes it seems as if we’re printing money when we expand. Actually, it’s no different than selling equity in any business. I think there needs to be a fair amount of modeling at the league office, working with existing owners and really thinking through the long-term prospects, again not just economically but also for potential of dilution of talent.”
Silver confirmed that Knicks owner James Dolan sent a letter to the NBA office and the rest of the league’s teams criticizing the new media deals, acknowledging that the contents of that letter were discussed at Tuesday’s Board of Governors meeting. However, he declined to go into any more detail, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes. “My response is we try to keep these issues in the family,” Silver said. “… I don’t think it’s appropriate to get into the specifics of what was discussed at our meeting.”
According to Holmes, Silver referred to Wyc Grousbeck‘s announcement that the Celtics are up for sale as “bittersweet,” lauding the current ownership group for the work it has done with the franchise over the past couple decades. “I understand the family circumstances and why he and his family have elected at this moment to sell the franchise,” Silver said. “I’m frankly saddened by it, just because not only have they won two championships, but beyond that they’ve operated the team in a first-class manner and he’s been a first-class owner in this league.”

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Grousbeck, Sale

July 11th, 2024 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, fresh off capturing his first NBA title, just signed the biggest contract in league history, a five-year, super-max deal worth a projected $313.93MM. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Tatum believes his championship has helped quiet some of the discourse surrounding him in the league at present.

“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’” Tatum said. “There’s still a lot of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship. I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”

Tatum seemed grateful for his lucrative new extension, too.

“For me just to feel wanted, and they want me to be here and want me for the long haul,” Tatum said. “I’ll spend my whole career here and have got nothing but love for the fans, the city, and the organization. You know, we just won a championship and I want to try to win as many as I can.”

During the 2023/24 regular season, the five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA honoree posted superlative averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks across 74 contests, with a .471/.376/.833 shooting line.

There’s more out of Boston:

Tatum’s All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown appeared miffed to have been passed over to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA in favor of another Celtics wing, Derrick White, Himmelsbach writes in a separate piece. Brown posted an emoji-packed tweet expressing his apparent displeasure. Sources confirmed to Brian Robb of MassLive that the 6’6″ small forward was indeed frustrated by the choice. Team USA managing director Grant Hill explained the decision on Wednesday. “This is about putting together a team,” Hill told gathered media. “Just kind of overall, you have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. I’ve talked a little about when we assembled this roster.”
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck recently revealed his intentions to sell his stake in the team. Now, Grousbeck has outlined some supplemental details of the plan, Robb notes in an additional article. “I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake,” Grousbeck said. “The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement.” According to Robb, Grousbeck hopes to sell the majority of his family’s ownership stake early next year. “The plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon,” Grousbeck said. “49 percent then closing in a second closing, that’s the expectation in 2028. I’m planning or expected to stay on until 2028 (as governor) and we’re going to hire bankers and advisors and this is going to be quite a bidding process.”
Grousbeck may be selling his portion of the Celtics chiefly because of long-term family estate planning, writes Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. Boston is valued at an estimated $5.12 billion by Sportico, Novy-Williams adds.

Atlantic Notes: Martin, Sixers, Embiid, Vezenkov, Celtics

July 8th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

In order to maximize their cap room, the Sixers renounced the rights to nearly all of their free agents, including a handful of players who hadn’t actually been on the roster for years, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter links). However, there was one notable exception: KJ Martin‘s cap hold remains on the team’s books.

Martin’s cap hold is worth the veteran’s minimum of $2,087,519, but Philadelphia holds his full Bird rights, allowing the team to go over the cap to re-sign him to a contract worth any salary up to the maximum.

Of course, Martin won’t get the max, but it could be in the 76ers’ best interests to re-sign him to a deal worth more than the minimum. Besides potentially vying for rotation minutes, Martin might come in handy as a trade chip on a roster where so many players will be earning either maximum- or minimum-salary contracts.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

A year after James Harden‘s trade demand hung over the Sixers‘ offseason like a dark cloud, there’s more optimism this summer in Philadelphia about the new-look roster, headed by Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. Speaking to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Embiid cautioned that the team still needs to make it work on the court, but admitted he’s excited about how the new big three looks. “On paper, and as far as the fit, it looks fantastic because you got both guys that can play off the ball, and they can play on ball and they’re great shooters and they can handle the ball, and then you also got me,” he said with a smile.“So, yeah, it looks great.”
Addressing the Sasha Vezenkov situation on Monday, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said he has had discussions with Vezenkov, his representatives, GM Bobby Webster, and head coach Darko Rajakovic about the matter. As Keith Smith of Spotrac details in depth, Vezenkov has reportedly reached a deal with Olympiacos but remains under contract with Toronto on a guaranteed NBA contract, preventing him from returning to Greece without the Raptors’ cooperation. “I think that should develop in the next few days or we’ll see whether it’s a few months,” Ujiri said. “We acquired a player in a trade and we feel we have communicated well. We communicated well with the agent and the team before. And so we’ll see how that goes.”
Taking a closer look at the Celtics‘ decision to put majority control of the franchise up for sale, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe says he believe H. Irving Grousbeck is ‘the one driving this sale” and that his son Wyc Grousbeck – the team’s governor and CEO – actually owns a “relatively small stake” in the team.

Atlantic Notes: Hartenstein, Pagliuca, George, Nets Rebuild

July 1st, 2024 at 9:24pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Money talks and that’s one big reason why Isaiah Hartenstein walked away from the Knicks in free agency. It was a difficult decision for Hartenstein, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes, because he wanted to stay in New York.

But as a player who had earned approximately $23MM so far in his NBA career, Hartenstein couldn’t pass up on the Thunder‘s three-year, $87MM offer, which will pay him about $30MM in year one, especially given the more favorable cost of living in Oklahoma City, Bondy writes. The Knicks held the center’s Early Bird rights, limiting them to a four-year, $72.5MM offer.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca suggested in a statement relayed by Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) that he’s not looking to divest from the team. Earlier on Monday, it was made public that the team’s majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, intended to put the franchise up for sale. Pagliuca’s statement reads in part, “Being a co-investor and managing partner of the Celtics has been a great honor and a labor of love. I hope to be a part of the Celtics moving forward and will be a proud participant in the bidding process that has been announced today.”
The Sixers had little choice but to pursue Paul George on the free agent market in order to keep up with the Eastern Conference contenders, Sam Amick of The Athletic opines. It was the best move available on the board, according to Amick, and keeps them alive in the chase for next year’s conference title.
The Nets must choose among two paths in their rebuild, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. They could make up to four first-round picks in a loaded 2025 draft and spend $80MM in free agency in an effort to accelerate the process or they could take a longer route. In that scenario, they could trade Ben Simmons, Bojan Bogdanovic and Dennis Schröder — players that come off the cap next summer — this offseason for unwanted multiyear contracts and more picks.

Celtics’ Ownership Group To Put Team Up For Sale

July 1st, 2024 at 12:37pm CST by Rory Maher

12:37pm: The Celtics confirmed in a press release that the majority ownership group plans to sell of its shares in the team (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston).

“The controlling family of the ownership group, after considerable thought and internal discussion, has decided to sell the team for estate and family planning considerations. The managing board of the ownership group expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028, and expects Wyc Grousbeck to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”

12:13pm: On the heels of their record-setting 18th NBA championship, the Celtics will be hitting the market, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Sources tell Wojnarowski that the team’s majority ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck, intends to make the franchise available for sale.

Grousbeck has been the team’s Governor since his Boston Basketball Partners group purchased the Celtics for $360MM back in 2002. Boston has won two NBA titles under his stewardship, in 2008 and just a few weeks ago.

A source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that while Grousbeck is selling his stake in the Celtics, other minority shareholders are expected to remain invested in the team (Twitter link).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the Celtics could be the most expensive team in NBA history in 2025/26, when a potential super-max extension for Jayson Tatum kicks in. Grousbeck will be looking to sell his stake just as severe roster-building restrictions are implemented in the new CBA.

As of December, Sportico had the Celtics ranked as the fourth-most valuable franchise in the NBA, with a valuation of $5.12 billion. That figure seems likely to have risen in the past eight months, given the team’s on-court success.

Grousbeck, 63, is a Massachusetts native who has built his wealth through various investments over the past few decades. His father, Irving, is a billionaire who co-founded Continental Cablevision.

Wyc Grousbeck Explains Celtics’ Decision To Shake Up Roster

August 7th, 2023 at 9:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics reached the NBA Finals in 2022 and fell one game short of returning last season, but management decided changes were needed after the playoff loss to the Heat, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck said in an interview with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Grousbeck characterized the last two seasons as “missed opportunities,” even though he admitted his team lost to two good opponents. Following the playoffs, he had a meeting with president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and head coach Joe Mazzulla in which they decided to explore chances to revamp the roster. That led to a three-team trade in late June that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.

“The general tone was, how do we take this energy we’re feeling right now that was built up over having two good seasons, but then didn’t get all the way,” Grousbeck said. “The whole point is, how do we get to banner 18? If we’d all agreed we should keep things the same, that would have been fine. But the idea of bringing in another talented big popped up early in the conversation, and we ended up executing on that idea.”

They decided to focus on Porzingis, who was facing a decision on a $36MM player option after a productive season with the Wizards. Porzingis had other interested teams if he had opted for free agency, but Grousbeck said he was eager to join the Celtics.

“He is a committed and now seasoned and effective player. He’s a real force. I’m really impressed with his commitment to being part of a winning Celtics team,” Grousbeck said. “I met with him when he came up for the press conference and spent some real time with him, and he’s so happy to be here. He’s so ready to shine at this stage of his career. But he sees a team concept, not the KP show. He’s continually improved over his career, and he thinks this is his prime. But he’s about the team, his teammates and the banner. He chose us. There were other people, I hear, that wanted him. And he chose us. He wants to be here and he wants to win a ring.”

Grousbeck covers several other topics in the interview, including:

The commitment to Mazzulla, who faced criticism in the playoffs in his first year running the team:

“If Joe had done a poor job, I would have thought about replacing him, but he did a very good job. He took us within one game of the best record in the league and then one game of being in the Finals, as a rookie coach. So I’m comfortable and happy to have Joe as head coach.”

The Celtics’ willingness to spend despite restrictions in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement:

“The league doesn’t allow us to comment on the details of the CBA, but having said that, we’re obviously all in, with the record contract for Jaylen (Brown) and with our payroll this year and in coming years. Eventually, there are basketball penalties for spending, so that will go into the thought process down the road. But at the moment, the best basketball thing we can do is what we’re doing.”

Heading into the future with Brown and Jayson Tatum as franchise cornerstones:

“They’re the best two people I could imagine building a team around. We’ve had them since the beginning. We’ve been very lucky to have them here for their whole careers, and we’re building the team around them. But you add the next eight guys to the list. You take our top 10 and we’ve got a really good team. The focus is naturally on those two because they’re All-NBA players and All-Stars, but I like the whole roster.”

Atlantic Notes: Thibodeau, Knicks, Grousbeck, Boucher

January 28th, 2023 at 9:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

During an interview Friday with WFAN, Knicks owner James Dolan said reaching the playoffs will “definitely be a benchmark” for this season, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Dolan didn’t specify what will happen if the team falls short, but Bondy suggests the repercussions will likely be directed at head coach Tom Thibodeau, who is in his third season with the team.

New York is in seventh place in the East at 27-24 following Saturday’s loss to Brooklyn, so the prospects for at least the play-in tournament appear good. Thibodeau acknowledged Dolan’s statement, but said it won’t change his approach to running the team.

“I never worry about that stuff. Hey look, for me, I look at (Dolan) as — is he giving us everything we need to be successful? Yes,” Thibodeau said. “So, go out there and give him everything we have. Hopefully, we have the team that does that, so we want him to have belief in the team. I think that’s good.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks are focused mainly on adding bench depth before the trade deadline, Ian Begley of SNY.TV states in a mailbag column. Begley adds that the front office appears committed to building a contender around the current core group and doesn’t view a full-scale rebuilding project as a viable option.
The Celtics will approach the trade deadline with a philosophy of trying to win the title this season, owner Wyc Grousbeck said in an interview with NBC Sports Boston (video link). When asked about his message to president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, Grousbeck responded, “It’s about this year. It’s not about ‘this will pay dividends in three years or this will do this next year. It’s this year; muscle up and let’s go get the job done.’ … If there’s anything to do, we’ll do it. If not, we love this team. We’re top of the league right now.”
Friday’s trip to Golden State brought back memories for Raptors big man Chris Boucher, who started his NBA career by appearing in one game for the Warriors in 2018, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Boucher faced an uncertain NBA future at the time, but he ultimately landed a rotation role with the Raptors. “I’m a lot older, I say that. I think I take things a lot differently than I used to,” Boucher said. “(I’m) less emotional, sensitive and (can) take criticism and not thinking that it’s all about me and everybody’s pointing fingers at me and all that. More able to see my mistakes and being able to fix them by myself, trying to be a better player every time I step on the floor.”

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